A few days ago I uploaded the first section of the Boulder Cemetery. The ‘Pioneer’ Cemetery has been on the site for several years but this is the first time that the current cemetery lists have been online.
First section was A to B and the second section was C to D @ www.outbackfamilyhistory.com.au
Grave of Edward Willis Boulder Cemetery 1904
I was unprepared for the overwhelming response to this post. I had thought the ‘page views’ on Facebook for the Kalgoorlie Cemetery were impressive at 14,000+ but as of today the page views for the Boulder Cemetery have been just over 30,000. It just goes to show that you just never quite can predict what visitors want to see. The cemetery records have been compleated for some time now and we have been in the checking stage
Grave of Edward Willis, Boulder Cemetery
These two photographs of the same grave taken 110 years apart show that it has stood the test of time. The early photograph was sent to me by my good friend Eric Meacock who has written a detailed family history.
This is the grave of:-
Edward WILLIS who died at Boulder 6th December 1903, his daughter Margaret Ann BLACK who died 3rd June 1908 and his son-in-law Charles BLACK who died 24th Aug 1915 and his grandchild, Margaret Sadie who died aged 12 months on the 25th May 1909. The family lived together at 13 Dart Street, Boulder where they ran a boarding house.
When Edward died the current cemetery was not yet opened and he was buried in the Pioneer Cemetery. When this closed in April 1904 his body was exhumed and transferred to the current cemetery and the headstone erected that you see above. Quite a few of the later burials in the old cemetery were transferred to the ‘New’ cemetery.
Eric added the following verse to the chapter on the Willis Family:-
Your tombstone stands among the rest, neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiseled out on polished marble stone.
It reaches out to all who care, it is too late to mourn,
You do not know that I exist. You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you, in flesh, in blood and bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse. Entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled so many years ago,
spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved. I wonder if you knew that
someday I would find this spot and come and visit you …
Moya Sharp
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Hi Moya,
I’m sure we met when I visited Kalgoorlie/Boulder a few years ago. I am still researching my family history and have found a number of interesting facts since being Kal. I still have family living in WA and many of my relatives lived in Kal for quite a number of years. I am so glad you have started this website. I hope to visit WA this year or next to continue with my research and hope we will meet again. If anyone has any further information concerning the Spear (David Park Spear was a prospector in Kal until his death earlier this century) and three sisters married miners), Austin (John Austin and Annie nee Geldert) or Donley, Milne and Dobbin families I would appreciate hearing from you. Cheers, Glen